If you're a player, not strictly a collector, you can spend under $2000 and get a vintage Ibanez that will be better made than just about any Gibson or Fender made in the 70's or 80's. A lot of Ibanez's fall into that category. These AM50's and 205's are a phenomenal under the radar vintage buy.and generally extremely affordable. I've had it a few weeks now and it's definitely become one of my two or three "never part with" guitars. I understand now why people rave about them. Perfect construction, very light weight, great neck.and the Super 58's are probably the best PAF style pups I've ever played. For those unfamiliar, it's essentially a 339 sized semi.except the introduction of the 339 was decades away.
Sounds like it’s probably fine, I might ask the Solar Guitars User Community FB group how thick their A-type bodies are.I just recently bought an '82 AM50 in near mint condition. You mean the brass block or just whatever block it comes with, right? I figured there’d be a minimum to that too, or at least a certain size required for the FR to be used worth a damn. Solar examples aside, I think Ill likely get an OFR for this guitar. All I know is Specials are garbage, and if I remember right, OFRs are the best. The 1.X FRs are equipped with 1000s and a 34mm block (which is apparently usually an aftermarket upgrade, I also saw posts where they ship with tubing in the strings to mute them.) but I’m not sure how good 1000s are. I barely trust myself to adjust a truss rod, Im not at the point where Id trust myself to accurately take a chunk out of one of my favorite guitars.ĭuring my research into the Floyds some Solars are equipped with, I learned that Specials (equipped to the 2.X FRs) are hot garbage.
I plan to get it done by a professional, if I can find one. By comparison, I’m pretty sure Floyd Rose’s parts are always readily available. The reason I hesitate to pursue an Ibanez trem is Im not sure if the replacement parts are readily available/won’t cost an arm and a leg. Is that thick enough for a Floyd Rose? Would I need to fill any of the original tremolo rout? Or is a conversion to a Floyd a completely subtractive rout? Would I be better off getting an Ibanez trem? If so, where would I find one, and one that doesnt suck? Ive heard good things about the MIJ trems and mediocre/bad things about the rest, though that’s all from RG/Ibanez Facebook groups. My problem is I can’t find the minimum body thickness required for a Floyd Rose rout.
#Ibanez ex 120 mod
The only reason I’m considering this drastic mod is that I’d get more use out of a floyd than a normal trem, and I don’t want to abandon a guitar I’ve become so attached to. Between the possible routing/labor fee, and price of an OFR, I could probably get a low-end RG with an Ibanez locking trem for just a little more. Despite Ibanez not risking confidence in it, I’ve loved it for years and it plays like a champ.
#Ibanez ex 120 series
The EX series (EX meaning “experimental” in this case) was apparently a Korean-made budget alternative to the MIJ RGs at the time, Ibanez put them in the back of the catalogue and didnt want to put the RG name on something that could end up being a failed experiment, tarnishing the RG name.
#Ibanez ex 120 upgrade
I now have an evertune guitar, my 2018 Solar E1.6ETC I got used off Reverb, so Im no longer considering hardtailing any of my tremolo guitars- instead, I’m wondering if I can take one of the axes Ive used for the longest time and upgrade it, so it’ll remain relevant instead of sitting in storage. I still play my first electric guitar regularly, a 1992 Ibanez EX120 I got used 5 years ago.